A Good Name

Bill Stinnett served the Cedar Sinai Park organization  for many many years. Tonight he was honored on the eve of his official retirement. It was such a pleasure to be in the audience to hear how this man mentored his colleagues; always acting with wisdom and grace. 

I was so proud to be asked to make a piece of glass to honor this man. Bill isn't Jewish but because he served the elders of this Jewish community , the staff and board wanted to honor him with  something that was Jewish but also touched on his own Christian faith.

This is the written document I crafted to accompany the glass piece.

The Board of Directors and Staff of Cedar Sinai commissioned this piece of art in honor of your many years of service to the organization.

The hebrew lettering quotes a passage from Ecclesiates 7:1: “ A good name is more precious than oil.”

It is explained that the scent of aromatic oils travels but a short distance within your house, while a good name travels from one end of the earth to the other.

In addition, you will find two red letters bookending the central tablet. The red letter on the right is first letter of the hebrew alphabet, aleph. On the far left is the final letter of the alphabet, tahf. The middle letter of the hebrew alphabet is a mem (there are two in the line that scans across the middle tablet.) These letters aleph, mem, tahf  spell the word Emet which means truth.

The glass was fused in the kiln at 1450 degrees for 15 hours. Visible through the clear glass tablets is copper mesh. Copper represents longevity and durability and is frequently mentioned in the old testament as an adornment for the Tabernacle. The central letters are cut from dichroic glass, a precious glass made by burning minerals in a vacuum chamber. The fused glass is mounted to a piece of acrylic which is mounted to a piece of hand-polished aluminum.

May you be blessed in your retirement. May your memories of Cedar Sinai Park be joyous, and may your good name continue to be known .